The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee yesterday said that it would grant requests by Central Motion Pictures Corp (CMPC) to access its assets to keep its business plans afloat, provided the requests pass a bimonthly review and that the projects serve public interest.
The committee and CMPC held their first round of negotiations to discuss how the company’s budget should be handled after the committee on Tuesday designated the firm a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) affiliate and froze its assets totaling NT$11.8 billion (US$379.4 million).
Speaking to reporters after the negotiations, committee spokeswoman Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) said that CMPC has agreed to immediately inform the committee of its financial needs before the end of this month and the committee would swiftly disburse the funds if the requests are approved.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
CMPC should list the budgetary items it needs to cover next month and in December by Tuesday, she said, adding that subsequent budget requests would be reviewed bimonthly.
The committee would decide whether to approve proposed CMPC projects that will be partially financed by banks as soon as the company submits a list of such projects, to avoid the company’s operations being affected by the KMT designation, she said.
CMPC plans to embark on a number of projects soon, including the renovation of its Blossom Cinema in Taipei, an “operate-transfer” project in Taichung and several internship programs it has jointly launched with schools, she said.
The committee will meet the company’s financial needs as long as they are in line with public interest, she added.
Asked whether CMPC stakeholders’ shareholdings would also be considered illegal assets, Shih said that would be determined after further investigation.
The committee designated CMPC a KMT affiliate because it was founded using party funds belonging to 19 movie theaters formerly operated by the Japanese colonial government, she said.
However, the company’s shareholding structure has undergone numerous changes after the KMT sold its shares in the company in 2006 and is very complicated, she said.
Shih urged CMPC to present any evidence in its favor as it would serve as a basis for the committee’s decision on whether its assets or stocks should be declared “ill-gotten” and transferred to the government.
CMPC general manager Lin Kun-huang (林坤煌) said that although he does not like the fact that all proposed spending by the company and its theaters must be reviewed and approved by the committee, the company respects the committee’s decision.
Committee Chairman Lin Feng-jeng said the KMT undervalued CMPC by at least NT$1.8 billion when it sold the company in 2006 for NT$3.14 billion.
Additional reporting by CNA
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